A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night has been hailed as the “first feminist Iranian vampire Western film in history”, and it shows.  The debut feature film of Ana Lily Amirpour, born in the UK to Iranian parents, is set in the fictional Bad City.  Although Ana set out to tell a story about Iranians characters, she knew that it was not a story that could be filmed, or even set, in contemporary Iran.  Instead, she created a dream city, working with other Iranian immigrant artists and designers to flesh out a space for her story.

“In a way, Bad City became our Iran – it became a true mash up of all the things that we are – which is our parents, and our parent’s Iran, but also America and Europe and all these influences of pop culture that we grew up on,” she says.  “It became a place for all of us.”

A Girl Walks Home received an honorable mention for the Halekulani Golden Orchid Award for best narrative feature at the Hawaii International Film Festival, and will be released in select theaters in the United States on November 21.

Watch our interview with Ana for more about the creation of Bad City, piracy as a distribution method, and the feline actor Masuka, the “gangster breakout star” of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.